Vala's Birthday Gift
by Rebecca J. McKeller
Summary: DV fluff. Daniel takes Vala to get a birthday gift. One-shot.


**Okay, seriously, no idea where this came from, but I thought it was a cute idea, so I had to write it. Pure DV fluff! Enjoy :-)**

***

"Didja hear?" Colonel Cameron Mitchell asked as he strolled through the halls of the SGC with his fellow SG-1 member, Doctor Daniel Jackson. "Apparently Princess' birthday is coming up."

Daniel nodded. "She's been running around telling everyone, like she's a toddler."

Cam snorted. "Apparently she got wind that it's an Earth custom to give gifts on birthdays. Who would be foolish enough to tell her that, you think?"

Daniel smirked. "Sam."

Cam shook his head. "Any idea what you're going to get her?"

"None whatsoever. You?"

"Short of finding some irreplaceable treasure? Nada." Mitchell paused.

They both sighed, glaring at Sam as she walked by.

"What? What'd I do?" Sam asked with innocent puppy dog eyes.

"Told anyone about birthday gifts lately?" Cam asked, sarcastically.

"Oh yeah," Sam laughed. "Have fun! I already got my present for her."

Daniel's head shot up. "You did? What'd you get her?"

"Not telling," Sam called as she continued down the hall.

"Damn," Mitchell muttered. "I'd give her cash, but then she'd want me to take her shopping."

Daniel grinned. "That gives me an idea."

***

"Okay," Daniel said in a kind, but stern voice, "choose _one_ thing in here that you want and I'll buy it for you."

Vala's eyes lit up. "Anything that I want?"

He was going to regret this; he was sure of that. "Yes," he sighed, unable to help grinning at her enthusiasm. He handed her a bright pink bow. "Put this on whatever you choose."

She snatched the bow and immediately hopped off into the department store, but she was easily found, slowly inspecting every piece of merchandise within the aisle. She picked up a green sweater and held it up against her body.

"What do you think?" she asked with a wide smile.

In truth, he thought it was the ugliest sweater he'd ever seen, but he had to admit, somehow it seemed less gaudy against her body. Still, it was pretty ugly. "If you want it," he said unenthusiastically.

She frowned at his tone and held the top up in front of her, inspecting it. Her face twisted in thought for a moment before she dropped it back on the table. "You're right darling, it is pretty hideous."

She continued on through the store, eying everything with care. She picked up a small round thing that reminded her of the UFO's she'd seen on television. There was a button on the top, which she promptly pressed. She jumped when it started vibrating in her hand, dropping it back on the table.

"Daniel? What is that thing?" she asked, her face contorted in confusion and disgust.

He laughed, picking it up. "It's for massages," he replied. He turned it back on and pressed it against her back to demonstrate. "See?"

"Rawr," she purred, winking at him. "I don't think this is the right place for _that_ darling. Although I'll gladly let you massage me back in my quarters."

He shook his head and put the machine back on the table. "Vala, behave. We're in public."

She flashed a mischievous grin and skipped over to another display. Something caught her eye a few rows down and within seconds she was there, picking it up. Daniel jogged over to see that she was holding a tiny white dress. He was silent.

"Isn't it adorable?" she whispered.

He put a hand on her arm. "It's for a baby, Vala."

"Well I know that!" she snapped. She stroked the material softly. "It's just so perfect."

"You don't–" he clamped his mouth shut, realizing his mistake and hoping she hadn't heard him.

Tears stung her eyes, though she fought them. She didn't want to think about Adria or the Ori. They were gone now; it was over. She couldn't dwell on the loss of her baby girl. She put the dress back on the rack and continued walking.

Daniel followed her, wondering just how long this would take. It wasn't that he was bored or anxious to get back to work – just a simple question. He was surprised to realize that part of him wanted it to last as long as possible. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shook the thought out of his head. When he looked up, Daniel realized Vala was no longer in front of him. He stopped with a jolt. He whipped around, looking for her, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Oh no," he mumbled to himself. "This is not good."

He weaved in and out of aisles looking for her, tempted to call her name, but not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. He poked his head around every corner, but still she was nowhere to be found. He grimaced at the thought of telling General Landry that he had not only lost a member of his team in a department store, but that he had lost this particular member. She wasn't exactly known for being discreet.

"Excuse me sir," came a soft young voice from behind him. He turned to face the saleslady.

"Yeah?" he answered, distracted.

"Can I help you find something?"

"Someone," he corrected. "I came here with someone but she appears to have run off somewhere."

"What does she look like?"

"Uh, she's got grey eyes and is pale with long dark pigtails," he answered, his eyes still scanning the area around him.

"And what's her name?"

"Vala," he replied.

The lady nodded and said something else to him, but he spotted a dark-haired woman looking at cards down the aisle and strained his eyes trying to see if it was her. He walked over to the woman, only to discover that it was someone entirely different. He sighed and continued on his search.

He was really starting to worry now. She wasn't in Ladies' Wear or Housewares, nor furniture or electronics. He was just about to head over to jewellery – why he hadn't started there was lost on him once he thought about it – when he was stopped again by the saleslady.

"Is this the girl you're looking for?" she asked.

He looked down to see a little girl with pale skin and dark pigtails smiling up at him. "I'm Valerie!" she exclaimed. "Who're you?"

"Oh, uh, no," he replied, hanging his head for a moment, wondering what the chances of this were, before looking back up at the lady. "The girl I'm looking for is much taller and much older."

"A teenager?" she asked.

"Almost forty," he replied with a slight smile, "but she still likes to run off."

The woman gave a knowing smile before turning back to the child and saying, "Let's go find your mommy and daddy." The little girl nodded and took off, the lady trailing behind her, hands still connected.

Daniel rubbed his forehead and headed toward to the jewellery. He sighed, realizing Vala was still nowhere to be found. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to think of somewhere else she might be. He needed to find her.

He jumped when he felt something hit his head. He reached up instinctively to touch the spot and felt a soft bunch of material resting atop his hair. He pulled it off and immediately recognized it as the bow he had given to Vala. He turned around to face her.

"There you are!" he said sternly.

"I've decided what I want!" she exclaimed, completely oblivious to the anger and anxiety she had caused him.

He wanted to be angry with her, but the childish spark in her eye prevented him from giving her a lecture on wandering off – although he made a mental note to do so later.

"What's that?" he asked.

She snatched the ribbon and plopped it back on his head with wider grin. She folded her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her feet.

He picked the ribbon back off and looked at her, confused. "Be serious, Vala."

She feigned a wounded look. "I am serious!"

"Me?" he asked, still confused. "You want me?"

"Well I'd made that pretty clear," she replied, rolling her eyes slightly.

He looked from the ribbon to her, noticing that despite her bright expression, she had a hint of fear in her expression. He'd gotten pretty good at reading her over the last few years, but he'd never seen this coming.

"You want me," he repeated with a hint of a smile forming. "Well, uh, I don't really know what to—"

Vala cut him off, planting her lips on his. It was a brief kiss, not nearly as long as either of them would have liked. She pulled back, looking into his eyes, her own filled with worry.

He grinned at her. "You want me," he repeated a third time.

"For someone so smart, you certainly take awhile to catch on," she replied, slightly annoyed that he wasn't saying anything else.

"I want you too," he whispered, pulling her into another kiss.

She grinned this time as they pulled apart. "I thought so," she winked.

"I'm really what you want?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "Well, you and that pretty necklace over there," she added with a laugh. Now he _knew _she was serious.

***

**Hope you liked it!! Reviews are always appreciated :-)**


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